KARACHI: Traders claim to be upset over missing sales targets for Eid related items in bustling bazars in the last week of Ramazan.

Their leaders stressed that pre-Ramazan shopping was less than expected and the first 20 days of the holy month were quiet. They blamed heat wave and rains for keeping away customers from markets.

This year leading readymade garment makers were offering substantial discounts to beat low sales forecasts, they added. President All Karachi Tajir Itehad (AKTI), Atiq Mir said “Overall sales in Karachi are expected at Rs 50 billion as against the target of Rs 70bn”.

He attributed the decline to falling buying power of consumers and food inflation”. He rejected the government’s claim of low inflation saying that ground reality is different. He said that even though salaries of public and private sector employees increased, the increase was not enough to cover the rising costs of living. Atiq said traders in Karachi invested around Rs 80bn this year which is Rs10bn less than last year.

He believed last year Eid sales were better. He found the sales unimpressive all over the country as traders in Karachi who supply products in up country were found complaining of low sales.

Another market leader Chairman Sindh Tajir Itehad (SIT) Jameel Paracha said sales hover between Rs 30-35bn in Karachi as against the target of Rs 70-80bn due to declining purchasing power.

He said people slashed their spending by half this Eid due to rising cost of living and traders lowered investments due to uncertainty. The market watchers did not endorse their perception. “I have yet to find a trader satisfied with business.

They probably complain habitually”, he said. Unlike last year this year markets are busy past midnight all over the country.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2016